A $150,000 Kia? Hotted up electric SUVs confirmed for NZ

Sister brands Hyundai and Kia have been keenly trying to reach new audiences in recent years, with both brands wading into the world of performance cars with the likes of Hyundai’s line-up of N hot hatches and the (now extinct) Kia Stinger GT.

The Stinger GT’s spiritual successor was the EV6 GT. And now two other fully electric GTs have been added to the Korean marque’s local line-up; the EV3 GT and EV9 GT. And, in the case of the latter, it is the most expensive model the brand has ever brought to market.

The EV3 GT is priced from $80,820 plus on-road costs. This positions it $5600 above the current EV3 GT-Line flagship. 

The bulk of that added spend goes to the model’s dual-motor all-wheel drive layout, which produces 215kW of power, 468Nm of torque, and can accelerate from 0–100kph in 5.7 seconds. 

The EV3 GT comes with the same 81.4kWh battery as the bulk of the EV3 line-up, with range rated at 501km on the WLTP cycle (down from 563km in other models). 

Beyond its added performance, the EV3 GT also gets its own 20-inch wheels, green brake callipers, uprated rubber, a GT steering wheel, sunroof, and an interior underscored by green accenting and stitching, as well as deeper bucket seats.

The model’s all-wheel drive hardware also means a slightly smaller boot space, dropping from 460-litres with all seats up and 1251-litres with the second row folded, to 413-litres/1204-litres.

The full-sized, three-row electric EV9 GT, meanwhile, is priced from $149,790 plus on-road costs — a $10,000 bump over the brand's former most expensive model, the $139,790 EV9 GT-Line.

The EV9 GT’s tweaks echo those of the EV3 GT. Whilst other EV9 grades also come with all-wheel drive, only the GT produces 374kW of power and 740Nm of torque. That’s 92kW and 40Nm more than the standard EV9 powertrain.

The sprint to 100kph is over in 4.5-seconds, whilst range from the 99.8kWh battery pack is rated at 510km on the WLTP cycle. 

As far as cosmetics are concerned, the GT gets the same bright green brake callipers and interior flourishes as the EV3 GT, as well as sport seats up front, and a GT steering wheel. Interestingly, the EV9 GT also gets one less seat than the rest of the EV9 range, swapping a bench seat in the middle for two captain’s chairs.